On the feast of St. Fernando, parishioners from the Idente churches of the Bronx and Long Island united to celebrate once again a gathering of the large Idente Family in the parish of St. Luke’s in Brentwood.
The event began with a spiritual lesson given by Fr. Luis Casasús, the Superior General of the Idente community, who encouraged everyone to be thankful to God and to ask Him that they may be more sensitive to the gifts they receive from the Holy Spirit. He continued that by becoming more aware of the Holy Spirit, they will realize that His gifts are like an unceasing rain that requires one to be attentive and awake to receive them. Furthermore, Fr. Luis manifested that according to Fernando Rielo, the gifts of the Holy Spirit have a special purpose, which is to strengthen one in the struggles they may face in one’s vocation or mission. The last and key point of the lesson was that a gift of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit Himself. The Holy Spirit offers Himself as a personal gift to each and every individual.
After the spiritual lesson, the congregation participated in the holy mass and later went outside on the church’s lawn to partake in a delicious and abundant lunch prepared by the family of Gustavo Guevara and Elena Flores, married missionaries.
When the meal ended, all went to the parish hall of the church to share the arts with an athenaeum, which was truly a special magical experience for everyone.
The artistic presentation was led by the masters of ceremony Juana Mendoza, a married Idente missionary, and Dr. Carlos Barrilla. The performances included the following: the song “Morir al amor” sung by Idente missionaries Christine and Loyce, an original poem written and read by Mónica Sarmiento, the song “Que canten los niños” by the altar servers from the Bronx, an original poem written and read by Elsy Martínez called “Frijoles”, the song “Lord, You Have Come to the Seashore” sung by girls from the Idente parish in Hempstead, the song “Ave María Trinitatis” composed by the Provincial Superior of the Idente sisters Elaine Schenk and sung by Carla and Idente sisters Luz, Christine and Yerania, a Spanish rap “¿Dónde están los Identes?” (“Where are the Identes?”) by our sisters Patricia and Anita; an original poem read by Elsi “Acudiendo a tu llamada”, a mime performance by Juan Carlos and Kimberly, and salsa rhythms played on the conga and bongo drums by Santiago Medina. The athenaeum concluded with a poem by Fernando Rielo, “I Know Who You Are”.
It was truly a wonderful day spent together as a lovely family.
!["El mundo puede cambiar desde el corazón"
(Papa Francisco, Encíclica Dilexit Nos)
"El Corazón de Cristo es éxtasis, es salida, es donación, es encuentro. En él nos volvemos capaces de relacionarnos de un modo sano y feliz, y de construir en este mundo el Reino de amor y de justicia. Nuestro corazón unido al de Cristo es capaz de este milagro social.
Tomar en serio el corazón tiene consecuencias sociales. Como enseña el Concilio Vaticano II, «tenemos todos que cambiar nuestros corazones, con los ojos puestos en el orbe entero y en aquellos trabajos que todos juntos podemos llevar a cabo para que nuestra generación mejore». Porque «los desequilibrios que fatigan al mundo moderno están conectados con ese otro desequilibrio fundamental que hunde sus raíces en el corazón humano». [21] Ante los dramas del mundo, el Concilio invita a volver al corazón, explicando que el ser humano «por su interioridad es, en efecto, superior al universo entero; a esta profunda interioridad retorna cuando entra dentro de su corazón, donde Dios le aguarda, escrutador de los corazones (cf. 1 S 16,7; Jr 17,10), y donde él personalmente, bajo la mirada de Dios, decide su propio destino».
Esto no significa confiar excesivamente en nosotros mismos. Tengamos cuidado: advirtamos que nuestro corazón no es autosuficiente; es frágil y está herido. Tiene una dignidad ontológica, pero al mismo tiempo debe buscar una vida más digna. Dice también el Concilio Vaticano II que «el fermento evangélico ha despertado y despierta en el corazón del hombre esta irrefrenable exigencia de la dignidad», aunque para vivir conforme a esa dignidad no nos basta conocer el Evangelio ni cumplir mecánicamente lo que nos manda. Necesitamos el auxilio del amor divino. Acudamos al Corazón de Cristo, ese centro de su ser, que es un horno ardiente de amor divino y humano y es la mayor plenitud que puede alcanzar lo humano. Allí, en ese Corazón es donde nos reconocemos finalmente a nosotros mismos y aprendemos a amar."](https://www.idente.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
